The assault began around 2 a.m. on May 11, with Russian forces deploying 108 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy UAVs from multiple directions, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
"Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end... I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens."
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called for "concrete proposals from both sides" in order for Washington to "move forward" in peace negotiations.
"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, called Witkoff's approach "a very bad idea."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power."
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
Ukrainian soldiers ride on an armored vehicle in Novostepanivka, Kharkiv region, on Sept. 19, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Yasuyoshi Chiba /AFP via Getty Images)
The draft law on mobilization, which is being amended by lawmakers, proposes to lower the enlistment age and introduce basic military training for adults, according to the Defense Ministry.
The ministry published a list on March 27 explaining the new key points included in the draft law.
In early February, Ukraine's parliament passed the updated bill on mobilization in the first reading, a few weeks after its initial, contentious version was withdrawn.
The draft law proposes the mobilization from the age of 25 to 60, according to the ministry. Citizens from the age of 18 can choose the time of basic military service. In addition, regardless of basic military training or service, they will receive a deferral until they reach the conscription age.
According to the bill, basic military training will be introduced in higher education institutions starting in 2025, with certain categories of citizens exempted from it.
Basic military service will be introduced instead of conscript service and will last five months in peacetime and three months in wartime.
More than 4,000 amendments to the bill have been submitted since its passing in the first reading.
In late February, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill on Feb. 26 that changed the conditions for the demobilization of conscripts.
Lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko said on March 27 that the parliament's National Security and Defense Committee rejected the amendment on demobilization after 36 months of service without the approval of the Headquarters of Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the new mobilization bill.
Asami Terajima
